Farmers: The Original Environmentalists
By Cory Lunde I t is a like a sub-plot out of the Netflix television series, Stranger Things , which follows the residents of Hawkins as they battle supernatural forces from the Upside Down, an alternate dimension linked together in a hive mind controlled by the Mind Flayer. In a stranger-than-fiction, real-life drama that is playing out across the country, farmers have inexplicably been cast as Demogorgans, the humanoid predators sent by the Mind Flayer as part of the superorganism’s quest to invade and destroy the Earth. With increasing intention and intensity, farmers are being vilified by many—including those in the environmental, scientific and policymaking communities—as enemies of our planet, as indiscriminate polluters and wasters of our air, soil and water resources. However, for anyone who has ever walked a field with a multi-generational family farmer and seen the pride that comes from knowing they are leaving a healthier environment to their children, nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is: Farmers are the original environmentalists. Farmers have been dedicated land stewards, protecting our open spaces and passing productive ground from one generation to the next, since before the environment was a cause. Farmers take very seriously their responsibility to preserve the natural resources that have been entrusted to their care. From a purely financial perspective, farmers have an incentive to preserve and improve the soil, water and air that both sustains and increases their livelihood. Businesses that fail to protect their investments do not remain in business long. But the story is much deeper than profit and loss statements. Simply put: It is in their DNA. Thomas Jefferson recognized this fact, once characterizing farmers as the “chosen people of God… whose breasts He has made His peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue.” In other words, Jefferson understood that there is a particular ethos ingrained in farmers—based on a shared work ethic, a collective commitment to right conduct and an unyielding sense of stewardship—that, if widely adopted, would ensure the long- term prosperity and happiness of the American people. While survey after survey confirms that public support for farmers remains resolute, the early confidence expressed by Jefferson seems to have eroded among today’s policymakers. In California, and elsewhere in the U.S., countless legislative and regulatory actions have been taken to limit the freedom of farmers to operate, ranging from reductions in water deliveries to onerous air and water quality mandates to the elimination of crop protection tools. Perhaps our policymakers would have a different perspective if they spent some time on an actual family farm, if they got to
Cannon Michael, Bowles Farming Company
Don Cameron, Terranova Ranch
8 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com MARCH | APRIL 2020
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